The Best Career Advice From 2025's Commencement Speakers.

Forbes

23-05-2025

At UMD's "Kermencement," Kermit the frog addressed teh class of 2025. (Photo by Allison Robbert/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
It's a tough time in higher education. A crackdown on student protestors, rollbacks in funding and increased deportations of international students have made both administrators and students wary and weary. Just this week, President Donald Trump escalated his battle against Harvard, with the Department of Homeland Security prohibiting the university from enrolling international students. (Harvard sued and a federal judge has already temporarily blocked the ban.)
So maybe it's no surprise that this year's college commencement speakers have largely stuck to offering useful career and life advice to the Class of 2025. Sure, a few student speakers used their commencement addresses to voice their disapproval with their universities stances–or lack of action–on the war in Gaza. But unlike last year's celebrations, when many commencements were marked by controversial advice and student walkouts, honorary degree recipients and speakers have focused this year mainly on inspiring the next generation.
The class of 2025 is graduating into a changing economy: A tightening job market is increasing competition for entry-level positions and the rise of artificial intelligence has hiring managers calling for an emphasis on candidates' humanity, all themes graduation speakers touched on.
The speakers ranged from journalists to CEOs, award-winning actors to athletes and yes–in perhaps the surest sign of this year's flight from controversy–even a talking frog. Graduates at the University of Maryland heard from Kermit the Frog in their 'Kermencement,' with the leading-man Muppet encouraging them to 'leap together instead of leaping over someone else.'
We've rounded up some of the best career advice, both for new graduates and those well into their careers, below:
Super Bowl champion AJ Brown reminded graduates sucess is rented, not owned, during his commencement address at Ole Miss. (Photo by)
Eagles wide receiver A.J, Brown has had quite the successful year—he won the Super Bowl, went viral after reading a book in the middle of a game and received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater. But despite all his achievements he cautioned Ole Miss graduates against basking in success for too long. 'Success isn't owned, it's rented,' he told the class of 2025. It needs to be consistently worked for by 'watching your own film' and learning from your mistakes. 'That self-awareness is a leadership skill,' he continued. Brown, who started his own youth literacy and mental health foundation, concluded by encouraging all graduates, not just the business majors, to think of themselves as their own operations. Whether as entrepreneurs or as rank-and-file corporate workers, 'your discipline is your product, your name is your brand, your habits are your investments.'
The founder of free learning site Khan Academy was booked and busy this commencement season, speaking at both Carnegie Mellon University and John Hopkins University in two weeks. While that could have been incredibly stress-inducing for those not used to public speaking, Sal Khan has a different approach to stress, one he shared with Hopkins' graduating class: Curate your stress. 'It's a privilege to have the kind of problems that come with growth,' he said. 'If you can do something about it, do it. If not, let it go.' When the stress gets too much to handle, it's ok to take a break. Early in his career, in his second day as an investment banker, Khan was shocked when his boss told him to go home and not work. But his boss was ultimately right. 'Having space in my life for family and passions allowed me to bring more passion and creativity to my investment work ,' he said during his Carnegie Mellon speech. It was then that he had time to start tutoring his cousin—the start to Khan Academy.
Founder and Shark Tank 'shark' Daniel Lubetzky told UC Berkeley graduates not to be afraid to use their youth. While it can be perceived as naivite—Lubetzky himself once was offended when a mentor praised him on it—youth is made up of grit, fearlessness, creativity, love and forgiveness, skills that Lubetzky said are key to career progress. 'Every one of us can train our mind to stay young and deploy the superpowers of youth,' he added.That requires focusing on building upon ideas instead of false compromises. 'It's not just good for business but for healing overall divisions,' he said, touching on the current political divisions as students at times interrupted him chanting 'free Palestine.'
Speaking at her alma mater, Banks encouraged graduates to worry less about competing for one opportunity and instead focus on creating opportunities for others. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Fierce competition can often feel like every worker is fighting for a diminishing piece of a singular pie—the one open role at a company, the one prize or scholarship. Elizabeth Banks cautions against that mindset. 'It's easy to think life is a zero-sum game,' the alumna told University of Pennsylvania graduates. 'Take yourself out of that mindset.' It rings true to those graduating into a competitive job market. So what to do when you don't get a slice of the pie? Create your own opportunities, by starting projects, building companies or teams, which will in turn create opportunities, or pies, for others. Not all will succeed at first, but failure after all, is a great motivator. Like other commencement speakers, Banks acknowledged the 'tough times' the class of 2025 is graduating into, and embodying her role as Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games movie trilogy, she concluded by wishing graduates: 'May the odds be ever in your favor.'
After years of schooling, graduating feels like a relief to those who have set plans. But for those who still don't know what they want to do and those who wish they had ambitious post-grad plans but don't, Jessica Livingston has one major piece of advice: You can reinvent yourself. 'You can go in any direction now,' she said, which is both exciting and terrifying. Her advice rings true not just to the newly-graduated but to mid-career folks too. Shifting gears–whether moving between job titles or industries–can seem intimidating, no matter your age. But it's how the author and cofounder of Y Combinator found her way from working customer service at Fidelity to the startup world. So how do you make the change? 'Find the people that you think are interesting and then ask what they're working on,' she said. All it takes is the right person to show you the work or industry that you're interested in. That's when she got ambitious.
Al Roker had wise words of advice to graduates—and parents—during his commencement address at Siena College. (Photo by: Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
In the age of side hustles, Al Roker, The Today Show's famous weatherman, told Siena College graduates to never forget their day job. It's not just about finding a stable job and salary—which Roker joked graduates should use to get their own phone plan and Netflix account—but about remembering how they got there and who helped them along the way. Not forgetting his journalistic roots, Roker also emphasized the importance of truth. 'Resist the temptation to chase viral overnight,' he said, adding that the wisest advice he got was that the truth matters because 'you can't chrome-plate cr–.'
We've all been sold the promise of chasing success as you climb the corporate ladder. But Martina Cheung, who heads the financial information and analytics firm S&P Global, cautioned the graduates of George Mason University against it. 'Don't collect promotions, collect experiences,' she said. Those often come in lateral moves, changing industries or organizations or even taking-on extra work. The pay bump may not be immediate, but different roles are what can make you a better leader. Cheung credited her own experience moving from president of S&P's market intelligence arm to its credit rating agency, and then leading due diligence in two global acquisitions, for best preparing her for the top role at the firm. 'If something is interesting, go for it,' she added. And play the long game: 'Don't worry as much about the prestige. If it captures your attention, it's going to get you where you want to go faster.'
At a packed Fenway park, Elliot Grainge, CEO of Atlantic Music Group spoke to the Northeastern class of 2025. (Matthew J Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
The class of 2025 is entering a daunting job market. Fewer jobs in tech, cuts in federal grants and research funding and a flooded market from laid off workers is making competition for starter jobs harder. Add in employers asking for more years of experience for entry level jobs and it's easy to feel disencouraged as a young worker. But Elliot Grainge, CEO of Atlantic Music Group, an alumnus of Northeastern and commencement speaker for this year's undergraduate commencement ceremony, reminded early-career folks that there is power in what they have yet to experience. 'Inexperience is a superpower,' he said. Experience can make one too cautious and too fearful of failure to take a risk. Instead, he encouraged Northeastern graduates to take advantage of their ambition and young age. 'People are going to underestimate you,' he added. 'That's not your liability, it's your advantage.'
Speaking at his alma mater's centennial commencement, Grant Hill asked Duke graduates to stay true to their integrity and close the gap between what is said and what is done. 'You will meet people, rely on institutions and listen to leaders who say all the right things. But when they are tested, they'll run, hide and fold,' he said. Don't be like them. 'Don't just list your values, live them.' It can seem daunting as we enter some of the toughest economic and political tests of our time, but Hill reassured those graduating, whether into a new job or into a new graduate degree, to keep their word. 'The world doesn't need more promises, it needs people who keep them,' he added.